Legal Disclaimer: This story is totally fictional and is
not meant to imply anything about the personalities or the sexual
orientation of the groups *Nsync and Backstreet
Boys. If you are under the age of 18, offended by male/male
material, or it is illegal to view such materials in your area, you should
be leaving now.

My
New Lifeby
James

Last time:Marc and the guys returned to the dressing
room after supper and chilled out until it was time to get ready.
Pete stuck his head into the room, "Justin, Lance and Chris you're
needed in makeup."

"Thanks, Pete," Chris said.

"You going to be here when we get back?"
Lance asked.

Shaking his head, Marc said, "No. I need
to get ready too. I'll see you all on stage."

"Ok, see you then," Lance said with
a smile and leaned in and gave Marc a quick kiss.

As everyone was leaving, Marc caught Joey
by the arm. "Got a moment?"

"Sure," Joey said as the others left the
room. "Are you all right? Do you need something."

"I'm fine. But I do need something,"
Marc said a little hesitantly.

"What?" Joey asked.

"I. . . Ah. . . Need a hug," Marc
said.

Joey smiled and pulled Marc into a gentle
hug. Marc wrapped his arms around Joey and pulled him in tight.
"Joe, I won't break."

"I don't want to hurt you," Joey
said softly.

"Hugs never hurt," Marc said.

Joey pulled Marc in tighter. "You really
alright?"

"Yeah, other than my nose feeling as big
as yours, I'm great."

Laughing, Joey said, "I think I've just
been insulted."

Breaking the hug Marc had a mischievous
grin on his face.

"Don't you need to get ready too," Joey
laughed.

"Yeah, see you on stage," Marc
said as he quickly leaned in and gave Joey a quick kiss on the lips, then
dashed out.

Chapter 28Boston Pops on the Fourth

Marc went to change then went to
check the stage setup. Everything looked in order. The opening
act, a local rock group was set up on a mobile platform. Their whole
setup could be rolled out onto the front half of the stage in front of
a large backdrop curtain with the band's name on it.
That left NSYNC's staging intact ready to go in less than three minutes.

Walking over to sound control, Marc asked,
"Bobby, you ready for me?" "Almost, just have to reset the channel,"
Bobby replied as he worked with a tiny screwdriver. "There."

Bobby handed the headset to Marc.

"What's this?" Marc asked as
he looked at the new piece of equipment.

"Your regular headset has a short in it.
You're going to use Joey's spare headset until I can get the other
one fixed," Bobby informed Marc.

Placing the headset on, Marc adjusted the
microphone in front of his mouth. "What do I do with these?"
Marc asked indicating the ear inserts.

"Let me see," Bobby said as he checked
to see how the earpiece fit into Marc's ear. "Too large," Bobby
said as he removed the earpiece. Returning with two smaller earpieces,
he tried each one on Marc. The second one fit Marc the best.
"Turn around, let me finish the hookup."

Bobby clipped the transmitter to the back
of Marc's belt. Making all the connections Bobby gave Marc a pat
on the back. "Test," was all the Bobby said.

Smiling, Marc began the test, "Hey,
Ron, this is Marc. How do you read me?"

"Loud and clear," Ron replied. "Brian
needs to talk to you about a few changes in tonight's show."

"Okay, do you know where he is?"

"Back stage behind the band," Ron
said.

"Thanks,"

The show that night was much better
than the sound check. Marc found Joey kept looking his way when he
had the chance. Marc would smile at Joey and give him a wink.
And Joey would beam a smile back.

Ron and Bobby were working the soundboards
during the concert. As always, the concert was recorded on video
and audio tape. Bobby was working the communications board for the
stage crew and the band. Ron heard laughter coming from
Bobby. "What's up?" he asked.

"Marc's at it again," Bobby chuckled.

"Is he being a motor mouth again?" Ron
asked.

"He hasn't figured out that his microphone
is live all the time."

"Have you been recording all of his feed?"
Ron asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"He's wearing Joey's headset. It's
going to be interesting to see what he sounds like with a good microphone.
God Must Have Spent, is up next. Let's see if he sings the
lead again," Ron said.

`Something tells
me we're going to be spending our day off playing with the mixer board,'
Bobby thought having some idea what Ron had in mind.

Marc had supervised the breakdown and loading
of the band instruments onto the truck. Ron walked up to Marc,
"Hey, man, why aren't you answering?"

"Answer what?" Marc asked.

"We need the equipment," Ron said as he
reached behind Marc and removed the transmitter. "This thing is
too expensive to be worn while loading a truck."

"Sorry, I forgot all about it," Marc said
sheepishly. "Is it all right?"

"Yeah, your earplug just got unplugged
while you were working."

Marc gave a rap on the dressing room door
before he entered. Walking in to the dressing room, he was met by
Joey who immediately grabbed Marc into a headlock. "I've got him,"
Joey shouted.

Squirming free of Joey's head hold Marc
tried to defend his actions. "Ah, you guys seemed to be dragging
a little near the end. So I figured I'd pep up the last number a
bit."

"A bit!" Josh exclaimed. "Trying
to dance to that tempo about killed me."

"Sorry," Marc said meekly.

"Sorry is not going to do it," Joey
said as the group began to move in on Marc.

"What are you going to do?" Marc
asked nervously.

"You need to be taught a lesson," Chris
said with a stern expression as he moved closer.

Looking over at Lance, Marc asked,
"Aren't you going to help me?"

Shaking his head, Lance said, "You're on
your own with this. When you screw with our music you pay the consequences,"
Lance said keeping a straight face.

"Shit!" was all Marc got out before he
was wrestled to the ground as the tickle attack began. Chris and JC each
took one of Marc's arms while Lance and Joey each held down a leg.
Justin got the honors of the actual torture. Straddling Marc, Justin
found his tickle spot and went to work on it, sending Marc into a fit of
laughter. Marc struggled to break free, bouncing Justin around as
if he was on a bucking bronco. Chris and JC had to put their full
weight on Marc's arms in order to hold him down. Leaning in with
his full weight, Chris came face to face with Marc.

Knowing that this opportunity to get Chris
may not happen again Marc moved swiftly and kissed Chris full on the mouth.
Moreover, knowing that the kiss would gross Chris out he stuck his tongue
into Chris' mouth.

Chris reacted by flying off Marc, trying
to get as far away as possible. "Shit man!" Chris shouted.
"He French kissed me."

Marc next bucked Justin completely off
him, sending Justin flying over Joey. Josh, who is the lightest of
the group, went flying next. Marc just lifted his arm up and tossed
him off. Reaching down, Marc grabbed Lance by the seat of his pants,
picked him up, and tossed him atop Chris.

Now that left Joey, the only member of
the group that had a chance of beating Marc in a fair fight.
Marc turned the tables on Joey and became the attacker. The wrestling
match was on as each boy tried to gain the advantage and pin the other.
Over and over they rolled both laughing as they sparred for the top position.

"Get him, Joe," Justin shouted.

Joey managed to roll Marc over on his back
pinning his arms above his head. Joe was breathing hard from the
effort and laughing as hard as Marc was. Joe's eye locked on
Marc's, their faces just inches apart. Joey could feel Marc's hot
breath on his face. Time seemed to have stopped for an instant; the
world around them vanished and only the two of them existed. Joey
leaned in closer to Marc.

Grinning broadly Marc said, "Nope."
as he raised his arms up, forcing Joey to shift his balance and throwing
Joey off. Marc rolled with Joe, ending up on top of Joe and pinning
him to the floor. "Ready to give up?" Marc asked.

"Never!" Joey replied.

Justin went to Joey's aid and jumped on
Marc's back as he tired to put a headlock on Marc.

"You know, Curly, you are becoming a pest,"
Marc said as he reached behind him and grabbed Justin behind the head and
flipped him off. Leaving Joey, whose fight had seemed to vanish,
Marc attacked Justin. Knowing where his tickle spot was, Marc attacked
without mercy.

"No way," JC said. "This was Justin's
idea. There is no way I'm going to get within Marc's reach."

"I'll save you Justin," Lance shouted as
he flung himself at Marc, using all his body weight to knock Marc off Justin.
Rolling on top, Lance grabbed Marc's arms at the wrist and tried to force
them down.

Just then, Pete entered the room and saw
everyone on the floor laughing while Marc and Lance wrestled.
Pete opened his mouth to say something but just couldn't quite get anything
out. He shook his head and left, not really wanting to know what
was going on.

Everyone noticed Pete's arrival and his
reaction to the noisy group brought on a new wave of laughter.

"Oh, my man thinks he can pin me,"
Marc said with a sly smile.

"I don't just think I can pin you,
I know I can pin you," Lance said as he struggled to push
Marc's arms down.

"Maybe if you were twins," Marc chuckled
as he easily moved his arms up and down as Lance strained to pin them down.

"I don't have to be twins. I have
a secret weapon," Lance said with confidence.

"What secret weapon?" Marc asked intrigued.

"This," Lance said as he leaned in and
started to kiss Marc.

Marc's feeble protest was muffled by Lance's
mouth. With a deep sigh, Marc surrendered to Lance.

Marc was a little dazed at the turn of
events. "The winner now needs to collect his prize," Marc said
as he reached up and grabbed the front of Lance's shirt and pulled him
back down for another deep kiss.

Pete was sitting at the table going over
reports when the guys finally made into the bus. "It's nice
of you guys to finally join us," Pete's said rather curtly.

"Sorry, Pete, we lost track of the time,"
JC said.

"Oh, sure," Pete said. Looking
to Marc he asked, "Do I need to say anything about the last number?"

"Ah, no. It has been pointed out
quite clearly that my actions were not appreciated. I won't do it
again without letting them know first," Marc said a little embarrassed.

Shaking his head, Pete said, "You guys
get back there and get some rest. . . . . Ok, George, let's head out."

Everyone just seemed to collapse in the
lounge, chilling out and unwinding. Lance was holding Marc in his
arms as Marc rested his head against Lance's chest. One by one, each
of the guys called it a night and headed for his bunk.

"If I promise not to kiss you on
the mouth again can we still be friends?" Marc asked sheepishly.

"Of course we're still friends,"
Chris said seeing that Marc was really worried about losing his friendship.
Pulling Marc into a hug, Chris said, "I'll see you in the morning.
Good night."

"Good night," Marc said as he gave
Chris a squeeze, giving Chris a kiss on the cheek. "Love ya,
see you in the morning."

Pulling back from the hug Chris just grinned
and shook his head, and wagged a finger at Marc.

Marc put on this innocent `what did I do
face.'

Chris chuckled, "Good night," and climbed
into his bunk.

Justin had come out of the bathroom just
as Chris and Marc hugged. Justin was grinning as Marc came up to
him.

"Hey, kid, what's up?" Marc asked.

"Just heading to bed. Hey, big bro,
do I get a good night hug too?"

"I don't know. You were a pest tonight,"
Marc teased.

"Isn't that what kid brothers are supposed
to do?"

Marc thought about it for a moment.
"Yeah, you're right." Marc pulled Justin into a tight hug.

"What no kiss?" Justin asked.

Pulling back a little, Marc looked at Justin.
Leaning in, Marc gave Justin a soft kiss on the lips. Looking again
to see what Justin's reaction was he was relieved to see him break out
in a big smile.

"Good night, Just. Sleep tight,"
Marc said as he released Justin from the hug.

"Good night, Marc. Love you, bro,"
Justin said as he gave Marc a quick kiss on the cheek and headed to his
bunk.

Joey was downing the last of his carton
of milk when Marc stepped through the curtains.

"Still up?" Marc asked.

"Yeah, can't sleep."

Marc gazed into Joey's eyes, seeing the
pain he felt. "Joe, I know there is something bothering you,"
Marc said softly.

"Marc, I can't talk about it."

Placing a hand on Joey's shoulder, Marc
said with sincerity, "I'm not going to pressure you into talking about
it. Joe you are my best friend, and I love you. I can see you
are fighting an inner battle and you are hurting. And I also
know you are not ready to talk about what's bothering you right now.
When you want to talk, I'll be there for you. . . . . I know it is
hard to get some private time together. If you need to talk just
ask me to go for a walk and I'll be there."

Joe nodded that he understood.

Marc pulled his friend into a tight hug.
"Get some rest. . . . I love you, Joe," Marc said into Joey's
ear. Then he gave Joey a good night kiss on the cheek.

In a cracking voice, Joey said, "Good
night. . . Love you too."

Marc returned to the lounge to find Lance
had made up their little nest. "I see where we are sleeping,"
Marc said as he kicked off his shoes. Handing Lance a bottle of apple
juice, he asked, "Is this going to be where we sleep every night?"

"Probably, we seemed to have developed
this habit of talking before we go to sleep each night. This way
we won't disturb the others."

"Good idea," Marc agreed as he climbed
in next to Lance.

Sitting with their backs against the seat,
they each took a large drink of their juice then sat in silence.
"Marc, I need to talk to you about what happened this afternoon,"
Lance started.

"What about it?" Marc asked.

"You scared the shit out of me today when
you got hurt."

"Sorry. . . . I didn't mean for it
to happen."

"I know you didn't mean for it to happen.
But when I saw you lying there with the blood running out your mouth and
nose I about died. I didn't know what to do to help you," Lance said

Marc took Lance's hand and felt him tremble.
"James, you did everything right. You checked my pulse."

"How did you know I checked your pulse?"

"I wasn't out of it, I was just stunned.
I heard everything that was going on around me. James, you have good
instincts, I know you would have done the right thing if I was really hurt
bad."

"I just hope I never have to use those
instincts," Lance said softly. "You know what surprised me
about that incident?"

"Thanks," Marc said softly. Reaching
out Marc put his arm around Justin's waist and pulled him in close.
"You can't get any rest way over there," Marc said into Justin's
ear.

"Thanks, I just wasn't sure."

"Do you remember what the dream was about?"
Marc asked.

"No. I only know that it scared me."

"Well your big brother is here to protect
you from any more bad dreams," Marc whispered. "Try to get
some rest."

"Thanks, Marc. Good night, Lance,"
Justin said with a yawn.

"Good night, Justin," Lance said as he
dozed off.

Marc leaned in and kissed the side of Justin's
neck. "Night little brother."

The downshifting and slowing of the bus
meant George had pulled off the expressway and was now on Boston's city
streets. Chris was the first to notice the change in rhythm of the
ride and knew the hotel was not far away. Stretching as he got out
of his bunk, Chris went up to the front of the bus to see how much longer
till they reached the hotel. Glancing out the windows Chris saw that
it was still dark out.

"Hey, Chris," Pete said.

"How much longer till the hotel?"

"About ten minutes. You want to get
everyone up?" Pete asked.

"Sure," Chris said as he glanced at his
watch. It was quarter till five. `Hmm,
we made good time.' Chris thought.

Going into the bunk area Chris pulled back
the curtain to JC's bunk. "Hey, Josh, wake up. We're almost
at the hotel."

"Oh, ok," Josh mumbled as he went back
to sleep.

Chris grabbed hold of Josh's blanket and
pulled it off him. "Oh no you don't. Get up."

"Ok, ok. I'm up," Josh protested.

Pulling the curtain of the upper bunk back.
"Joey. Come on man. It's time to get up."

"K, I'm up," Joey said as he
climbed out of his bunk and headed for the bathroom.

Pulling back Justin's curtain Chris found
an empty bunk. The curtains to Lance and Marc's bunks were open and
the bunks were empty. Smiling, knowing what was going on Chris went
to the lounge door and opened it while saying, "Don't tell me you
three stayed up all night playing Nintendo?" Chris instantly froze
at the sight of his three friends sleeping wrapped in each other's arms.
"Holy Shit!" Chris shouted.

The three sleepers awoke at Chris's shout.
The three looked at Chris's face then they all broke out in laughter.

JC and Joey, hearing Chris's shout, stuck
their head into the lounge and saw the other three laying on the floor
all curled up together.

Joey grinned at the sight and asked,
"Are we comfortable, guys?"

"We were until Chris woke us," Lance
said.

"Justin, what are you doing in there?"
JC asked.

"I had a bad dream. And I didn't
want to be alone."

"Why didn't you come to one of us instead
of bothering Lance and Marc?" JC asked.

"Because he was upset and needed to be
held by Marc," Lance said hoping to put an end to the questions.

"Is everyone up?" Pete shouted from
the front of the bus. "We're at the hotel."

Dragging their still weary tails, the guys
made it to the sixteenth floor. They were assigned a suite with three
bedrooms. It had become their normal routine for Lance and Marc to
share a room, Justin and JC seemed to naturally pair off and Chris and
Joey to share a room. But if the truth really be known, Joey
was the only one who could sleep through Chris's snoring.

Everyone kind of fell into the large couches
and dozed waiting for the luggage to arrive. A loud rap on the door
brought everyone back to consciousness. Joey, who was closest to
the door, went to answer it. Two large baggage carts were rolled
into the room. Everyone grabbed their stuff off the carts and the
carts were pushed out into the hallway.

Marc grabbed his and Lance's small suitcases
and headed for their room.

"What about the other bags?" Lance
asked.

"Leave them. They're not going anywhere,"
Marc said with a yawn.

"What time do we have to be up for your
rehearsal?" Justin asked.

"Rehearsal starts at ten. They will
be sending a car for us at quarter to. I take it you are coming along?"
Marc asked.

"Of course I'm coming. You can't
be expected to go without your entourage," Justin said with
a grin.

"Oh, okay. I'll be sure to get you
up," Marc said. "Anyone else want a wake up call?"

JC shook his head. "Not me.
I'm going to sleep in," Josh said as he headed for bed. "See
you all sometime after noon."

"I intend to do the same. A real
bed is all I want for the next eight hours," Chris said as he headed
to his room.

"I'll see you guys in a few hours,"
Justin said to Lance & Marc as he picked up his bag.

"You going to be all right?" Marc
asked.

"Sure, the bad dream won't be back.
You took care of that," Justin said as he leaned in and gave Marc
a kiss on the cheek. "Night, bro."

"Night, Just," Marc said with a smile at
Justin's simple gesture.

Turning their attention to Joey, Marc asked,
"Do you want to come along?"

"If it would be ok with you guys, I'd like
to come along,"

"Joe, you are always welcome to join us;
you don't have to ask," Marc said.

"Unless you find the bedroom door locked,"
Lance added with a grin. "Then take the hint and go find someone
else to play with."

Joey started to blush at Lance's comment.

Chuckling, Lance pulled Joey into a hug
and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Night, Joe, see you at breakfast."

Lance took his bag from Marc and headed
to their room.

Joey watched Lance go to his room, a little
stunned at Lance's show of affection. As Lance closed the door, Joey
found Marc standing next to him smiling.

"No, he's not gay. The relationship
we have has nothing to do with sexual preference. We have kind of
adopted each other as brothers. He knows that I love him and I will
protect him. That's why when he had his bad dream he knew he could
come to me and that I would make him feel safe."

"What do you get out of this relationship?"
Joey asked.

"Someone that sees who I am and accepts
me for me. No judgments, no labeling. Just his friendship and
love," Marc said with a smile. "And I get a kid brother who thinks
I'm the greatest thing to come along."

Smiling, Joey said, "You are his hero."

"That's only a small part of our relationship.
Justin has filled a space in my heart. A space that was meant for
a little brother, from my other life maybe. I may never know for
sure."

"Are there other spaces to be filled?"
Joey asked.

Smiling as he picked up his bag, Marc said,
"Yeah, Joe, there're a few empty spaces to be filled. Get some
rest, Joe."

Stopping at the door Marc turned around
grinning and said, "I love you too, Joe, night."

The wake up call came all too soon.
Rolling out of bed Lance and Marc slipped into shorts and went to wake
the others. Marc went to get Justin up and Lance went to wake Joey.

Marc was on the phone when everyone met
up in the living room.

"What are we doing for breakfast?" Justin
asked.

"The café has set aside an
area for us," Marc said.

Leaving their room, they were met by their
security detail.

"Ah, our shadows," Lance said referring
to the four bodyguards.

For some reason unknown to Marc, their
personal body guards, when they were out in the public, were always these
three hundred pound ex football linemen. Maybe they were meant more
to intimidate the fans, which they did really well.

As they were walking down the hall Marc
noticed, the foot steps and stopped short. "Hold it. This is not
going to work," Marc said.

"Our orders are to stick with you guys
until you are all safely back to the hotel," Ron, Marc's bodyguard informed
him.

"I know that. But we need to get
some order into this," Marc said. "Let's form two lines.
Body guards on the right, pain-in-the-ass white boys on the left."

The guards were grinning at Marc's statement
as they lined up. "All right pair up guard to pain. That's
right. Now we are going to march down the hall to the elevator,"
Marc ordered.

"Now we are going to march in place to
make sure everyone is in step. On the count of four we will start
with our left foot. . . . . One, two, three, four. Left, right, left,
right. Left, right, everyone get in step.. . . . OK, good. Now we
will step off on the left foot. On four now. One, two, three,
four." the group moved forward in step as they marched down the hall.
As they approached the elevator, the doors opened and Pete stepped out
and quickly stepped aside as the group marched onto the elevator.

"Left, right, left, right, company halt,"
Marc call out. The guards who were slow to react kind of walked into
each other. Shaking his head, Marc said to Joey, "Just my luck, we
are being guarded by four black brothers with no sense of rhythm."

As the doors were closing a low growl escaped
from Bubba, the biggest of the group. "What do you mean no rhythm, white
boy."

After the doors closed on the group Pete
chuckled to himself as he walked down the hall. "Damn, Marc, you
sure are making this tour very interesting."

The group noisily exited the elevator and
made their way to the café. The hostess greeted them.
"We are all set up for you. This way. That's four for breakfast
right?"

Marc looked around the group and said.
"No, there will be eight for breakfast."

"Marc, we are working. We can't,"
Ron said softly.

"Have you had breakfast yet?" Marc
asked.

"No., but."

"There is no buts about it. You have
two choices. You can stay out here, guard us and be hungry all morning.
Or come in and have breakfast with us."

"Or we could come in with you and guard
you," Ron said.

"No. I don't enjoy breakfast with
you guys hovering over us," Marc said.

The guards exchanged looks and nods.

"That will be eight for breakfast," Joey
said to the hostess.

After breakfast, Marc found the limo waiting
to take them to rehearsal. Marc looked at the limo then at the eight
people to be transported. "This isn't going to work," Marc
said to Ron.

"We have it covered," Ron said indicating
the large van behind the limo. "I will travel with you, the others
will follow in the van."

It was a short drive to the band shell
and upon arriving Marc and his group were shown to a dressing room to meet
with Keith Lockhart, the conductor. Because of time constraints,
Marc would be allowed an hour and a half rehearsal time.

Going out on stage Lance and the others
were shown the area were they would be allowed to watch Marc's portion
of the concert. In the mean time they were allowed to take seats
in the front row of the amphitheater.

The conductor introduced Marc to the orchestra
and retired to his dressing room. Marc lead the orchestra through
all three marches twice. Everything came together quickly leaving
a whole half hour of rehearsal time free. Marc leafed through the
music on the podium and spotted something he wanted to try.

"I know I am only scheduled for the three
marches but since we have time can we play the 1812 Overture?" Marc
asked.

Everyone pulled out their scores.
Marc raised his arms as everyone was poised to play.

Near the end of the last movement, Keith
Lockhart casually strolled onto stage and stood behind Marc.

"Oh, oh," Justin said under his breath.
"This could be trouble."

At the end of the number, Marc was all
smiles, but when he looked out over the orchestra Marc was met with blank
stares. The concertmaster slowly pointed behind Marc.
Slowly turning Marc was met with the unsmiling face of the conductor.
Stepping down Marc walked up to Maestro Lockhart who held out his hand.
Marc looked at the baton and placed it into the conductor's hand.
"Sorry, I was just having fun."

"How often have you conducted the 1812?"

"I've played it several times as a member
of the Madison Symphony. This was the first time I've seen the whole
score," Marc said.

"You are telling me that you were sight
reading the score while you conducted?"

"Yes."

"Impressive, very impressive. I can't
wait to work with you later in the season," the Maestro said with a big
smile as he shook Marc's hand. From behind him Marc heard the applause
of the members of the Boston Pops.

"Well, Marc pulled it off again,"
Joey said with a big sigh.

On the way back to the hotel, Marc had
the driver pull into McDonald's drive thru for an order. Upon entering
their suite, they found JC and Chris watching TV.

"How did rehearsal go?" JC asked.

"Marc dazzled them," Justin answered.

"Hey, I smell Big Macs," Chris said
sniffing the air.

"We picked up lunch on our way back," Lance
said as he placed the bags of food on the table.

The bags of food were devoured in record
time.

"What do you guys want to do this afternoon?"
Chris asked.

"We don't have to be to the cookout until
after four," JC pointed out.

"I'm going to take a nap," Marc said.
"I still have to work tonight."

"I'll join you," Lance said. "That wake
up call came way too early."

"Why does that not surprise me," Chris
said with a grin.

"The hotel has a health club and a pool,"
Justin offered.

"That sounds like a plan," Chris said.
"Anyone else up for a workout?"

Josh and Joey raised their hands.
"We're in."

Lance had to use the bathroom before climbing
into bed. When he came out, he found Marc in bed asleep on his side.
Letting out a big sigh Lance slipped into behind Marc, knowing that any
ideas of fooling around would have to wait. Pulling himself close
to Marc, Lance leaned in and kissed Marc on the shoulder, "Sleep tight,
lover."

To: Not an AngelFrom: Phoenix Rising

Hey girl, Boy what
a day! We are in Boston for the Fourth and it was a free day.
Free for the guys at least. I got to conduct the Boston Pops!
What a rush. Well I only conducted a small part of the concert.
I got to conduct three Sousa Marches. The El Capitan, Semper Fidelis,
and the Stars and Stripes Forever. I don't suppose the concert will be
broadcast in the UK. You brits still seem to be a little touchy about
our little tea party. ; ) Well I am
not staying around for tomorrows concert. I am going with the advance
security team to New York. I have to meet with the producers of the
talk shows the guys will be appearing on next week. Hope I don't
screw everything up. But Pete the road manager thinks I can do the
job. The only
bad thing is I wont see the guys for almost two days. Well the Colonel
and I will have to tuff it out I guess. I will write
you when I get to New York. Later Angel,Phoenix

Marc awoke to the gentle kisses on his
ear. Stretching, Marc asked, "What time is it?"

"It's seven o'clock," Lance said softly.
"And you have to get up and finish packing."

"Didn't I do that last night?" Marc said
through a yawn.

"No. We took one of our special showers
last night. I think we both died when our heads hit the pillows.
Don't you remember?"

"Oh yes, the shower I do remember," Marc
said with a big grin.

Rolling Marc to the edge of the bed, Lance
sternly said, "Come on Newman, move that ass of yours. I'm not going
to be blamed for you being late."

Marc had all his bags packed and waiting
by the door when security came for them. Marc and Lance went down
to the café for a quiet breakfast together. As they were paying
for breakfast Marc spotted Ron motioning it was time to go.
Indicating he needed a minute, Marc walked Lance to the elevator.

"Well I guess this is good bye," Lance
said sadly. "I wish I could kiss you."

"I know," Marc said as the doors opened
to an empty elevator. Taking Lance's hand Marc stepped onto the elevator
with him.

"What are you doing?" Lance asked as the
doors closed.

Marc pushed the elevator stop button and
pulled Lance into a deep kiss. Breaking the kiss Marc said, "James,
there is always a way to sneak a good bye kiss"

Pushing the open door button Marc stepped
off and turned back to Lance. He mouthed a silent, "I love you."

The drive to New York was long and boring.
It wasn't until about the half way point that it became interesting as
they ran into a heavy rain storm.

An hour and a half later than planned the
van pulled into the parking garage of the hotel. Marc went with Ron
to check in and was looking around the lobby when Ron came up to him with
his key.

"Thanks, are these the rooms we will be
in all week?" Marc asked.

"Yeah, but your floor already has someone
staying on it." Ron said.

"Oh! Will there be a problem?" Marc asked.

"There shouldn't be. I think you
know one of them."

"I do? Who?" Marc asked intrigued.

"Howie and Brian of the Backstreet Boys,
they're in the suite across the hall from yours."

Marc's face broke out in a big grin,
"Great! Someone to play with."

TBC

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